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Have you heard about what the Welfare Minister, Lord Freud, has said about people with disabilities?

What is it about?

He said that people with disabilities aren’t worth paying the minimum wage!

That isn’t right!

It isn’t right but lots of people agree with him – he is just the first one to say it. They are scared to employ people with disabilities.

They think it will be more expensive for them. They will have to make their buildings accessible and find people to help their disabled staff with their work.

Organisations think that disabled people can’t do the same jobs as non-disabled people.

That just isn’t realistic. If you make a safe environment and provide communication support, people can do exactly the same jobs as their non-disabled colleagues.

In fact, research has shown that people with disabilities are more loyal, and less likely to change their jobs.

People with disabilities bring different skills and experience to the workplace.

Yes they do. I have a physical disability and I know how to manage it each day to prioritise the things I need to do to take into account my disability. This is a skill that I can transfer into the workplace to make sure the work gets done at the right time.

We are experts by experience. More organisations should use the co-working model. When disabled and non-disabled people work together to share their skills and knowledge, it is a powerful; model! I live with a disability every day, we can learn skills from each other.

This isn’t difficult to do in all workplaces and means the work is better quality and inclusive!

Lord Freud should come and spend some time with people with disabilities in the workplace and see just what they are worth!

We would like Lord Freud to come and visit us at CHANGE and show him the excellent work that we do every day. We work with governments and organisations like NHS England to make life better for people with disabilities.

People shouldn’t be scared about employing people with disabilities, we work just as hard and do just as good a job – we are just like you!

Have you heard that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are thinking of putting hidden cameras into care homes?

Annabel

No I haven’t! Why would they do that?

There’s a lot of abuse and bullying goes on in care homes and the CQC want to stop it.

Oh yes, I remember what was happening in that care home called Winterbourne View.

KA Maracas

I’m not sure if cameras are a good idea.

Ace Man

But it would help get rid of the bullying and abuse and people would feel safer.

Yes, but I wouldn’t want to be watched all the time in my own home. There would be no privacy!

I agree with you – I wouldn’t like that either!

But how can people be kept safe from the bullies and abusers?

The CQC are also thinking of using ‘Mystery Shoppers’. This is where people go into the care home and pretend they are looking for care for a loved one.

They could get people to pretend to be a cleaner or a handyman too!

That might work better because the care workers would be on their best behaviour if someone was looking to move someone there.

Why don’t they give everyone in the care home a secret emergency phone to use to get help.

This wouldn’t work because carers can take away things easily. And it’s hard to keep things secret or private when you depend on other people for help.

Why don’t people who are being bullied just tell someone?

They might be frightened that the bullies will do worse things to them. They may be frightened to get into trouble and feel it is their fault somehow. They might not have anyone to tell. Also people who have told about bullying and abuse sometimes haven’t been believed.

That’s horrible! It’s awful that people can’t feel safe and cared for in their own home.

Anything they do such as cameras or mystery shoppers needs to be balanced against peoples’ right to privacy.

Yes that’s important. I think the people who live in care homes need to be asked what they think about it before anything gets decided.

GUILTY – 6 of the 11 Winterbourne View careworkers have been sent to jail

I am very angry and upset about what I have heard on the news about Winterbourne View. Winterbourne View was a home for disabled people where the staff were bullies. They closed it down and now the bullies have been sent to jail – see BBC News 26th October.

The people who lived there have been moved to different places but a journalist has found out that many are still being bullied in the new places – BBC News 29th October.

This is disgusting, I hate this so much that this is happening again. It will cause problems for the disabled people in their later life. I think they should stop all the bullying, it’s not fair and it’s not funny!

It is wrong, professionals should step in and stop this as soon as it happens.

A lot of bullying is going on, it is getting worse and the bullies are getting away with it!

Many disabled people get worried and frightened when they hear these stories in the news. They might think that this will happen to them if they have to live in a home.

The other thing they found is that disabled people are bored.

The assessments are taking too long so they need to do a faster and better job.

Professionals need to learn how to do restraint in a better and safer way.

I’m upset that people are bored – they should be put on more activities and find more ways to help people to get out into the community. Things like going on day trips, going to the cinema, to the gym, to the park or to a restaurant.

The family were cruel and violent to Ghalib and treated him like a slave. They thought he was a financial burden on them because he couldn’t work.

They threatened to bury him alive and cut his tongue out and beat him all the time! He escaped and was found wandering in the street. The police came and someone in the street helped to translate. When the police asked if they could take him home he go very frightened and clung to a lamp post. Then Ghalib told them about being beaten and not being allowed to go back to Pakistan.

A relative took Ghalib home where he was very badly beaten for speaking out. Four days later a police officer and a social worker went to the house and asked to speak to Ghalib alone. The family lied and said he wasn’t there but the police found Ghalib huddled on the sofa.

https://accessteamdisabilityblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/01-malak.mp3 I read a story in the paper about a young man called Josh who has learning disabilities. He was at the swimming baths with his friends and support workers. He was in his clothes at the side of the pool and he was enjoying looking at the water. He was in his own dream world, another word for this is a ‘trance’. The pool staff rang the police because they wanted him to stop doing it.

https://accessteamdisabilityblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/01-malak.mp3 This is when things started to go really wrong for Josh. The police and pool staff didn’t listen to the support staff, they tried to get Josh to stop but this scared him and he jumped into the pool. After he got out of the pool the police put handcuffs on him and tied up his feet, and then they put him in the police van.

Police put Josh in handcuffs

The Police left Josh alone in their van - cold and dripping wet

He was all wet and very frightened and they left him all on his own.

https://accessteamdisabilityblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/01-malak.mp3 Josh and his family were very upset and angry about what happened so they took the police to court. The judge agreed that the police were guilty and had discriminated against Josh. Another way to say this is that they were not fair to him. The judge said that the police had to pay some money to them. Josh and his family are pleased the court said the police are guilty but they really want the police to say sorry.